Life Is Easier Essay

Living today is more comfortable and easier than when your grandparents were children. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Recently, my grandparents often recall how difficult their lives were when they were young, claiming that my generation has much easier lives than they had. I agree with them. In fact, life today is much more comfortable and easier than it was in my grandparents’ youth for some reasons. First, technology has made modern-day life much more comfortable than in the past. During my grandparents’ time, life was rough and hard because all the work was done without any modern tool, so they had to do their laundry by hand, walked from one place to another by feet. Furthermore, there was limited in entertainment choices in the past. They could at best listen to the radio or perhaps watch a black-and-white movie for pleasure. Today, however, living has become a lot easier thanks to technological developments. We launder our clothes with washing machine, uses buses, subways, or cars to move around. We also enjoy home theater systems, DVDs, and video games. Technology has definitely improved our lives. In addition, people today have more leisure time than they did before. People no longer have to work very long hours like my grandparents did. Since my grandparents were farmers, they had to work in the rice field all day long even without resting on weekends. In contrast, many people today, including my parents, simply work from nine to five on weekdays and take weekends off. They therefore have much free time than my grandparents did, so they can spend more time on leisure activities. They go to the movies, go to the gym, or take trips. All these activities have positive affect on their quality of living. In conclusion, people today have more comfortable and easier lives than in the past. This is the results of technological developments and the extra leisure time available. These factors will make our live even more comfortable in the future.

Finance 3301 questions Essay

Broussard Skateboard’s sales are expected to increase by 15% from $8 million in 2012 to $9. 2 million in 2013. Its assets totaled $5 million at the end of 2012. Broussard is already at full capacity, so its assets must grow at the same rate as projected sales. At the end of 2012, current liabilities were $1. 4 million, consisting of $450,000 of accounts payable, $500,000 of notes payable, and $450,000 of accruals. The after-tax profit margin is forecasted to be 6%, and the forecasted payout ratio is 40%. Use the AFN equation to forecast Brous- sard’s additional funds needed for the coming year. Required increase in assets – Increase in spontaneous liabilities – Increase in retained earnings = AFN AFN=($5/$8)*$1. 2 – ($1. 4/$8)*$1. 2-$9. 2*6%*(1-40%)=0. 75 – 0. 21 – 0. 33=21% Chapter 10 Tony Company’s balance sheet shows $300 million in debt, $50 million in preferred stock, and $250 million in total common equity. Tony Company`s tax rate is 40%, rd =6%,rPS =5%,andrs =10%. If Tony Company get capital structure of 30% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 65% common stock, what is its WACC? Wd=30% ; Wps=5%; Ws=65% WACC=Wd*rd*(1-T)+Wps*rps+ws*rs=30%*6%(1-40%)+5%*5%+65%*10%=0. 0108+0. 000125+0. 065=7. 59% What kinds of the T-bonds is the best proxy for the risk-free rate is the yield on? Answer: A A, long-term B, short-term C, No one Chapter 11 A company creates value when the spread between EROIC and WACC is positive—that is, when Answer: B A, EROIC ? WACC = 0 B, EROIC ? WACC > 0; C, EROIC ? WACC

8th Grade History Observation

I was very excited about this assignment. I enjoy going into the classroom and being able to observe what is going on and how everyone interacts with each other. I decided to attend a classroom at an expulsion school that has 4th- 12th grade students. Every student has a different story of why they are they at this school, some students made a mistake and want to earn their way back to their school site and some do not care about school and to not try to work towards anything positive. The staff explained that working there is a challenge and takes a special type of person that can adjust to a variety of challenging students and still try to accomplish a positive learning environment. I decided to observe the 8th grade history class for an entire chapter. I wanted to get the full experience from the start of the lesson to testing and see how the whole lesson is presented, delivered and received from start to finish. The text book used is United States History: Independence to 1914. I sat in when the students were learning about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The book seemed difficult for some students to read and comprehend. There was an aide in the classroom at all times. I sat in a class with 31 students in it and 12 of them had an IEP, 504 plan or BSP. The teacher and aide were constantly walking around and helping the students with a diverse set of challenges. Some students I could see clearly could not read the book. The level of reading was considerably lower that what the textbook was. I could see there were students with a 2nd grade reading level trying to read a 8th grade textbook. There was also one student who caught my eye because he had a one on one aide. The first day of class the teacher passes out a page that is front and back. This has a few vocabulary words that are in the text and has sentences from the text with blanks within the sentences. The student is to read through the text and fill in the blanks and define the vocabulary words. Most students are able to complete this task without help. It took them to look in the glossary or dictionary and copy the definition. The student with a one on one aide did not have the skills to find the words alphabetically. He needed assistance finding the words and then was able to copy the words down on the page. The teacher and aide continued to walk around with the class and that kept everyone on task. I thought this was a good idea and the students seemed to know what to do and got right to work. They are allowed to work in a group of two or independently. The students that seemed serious about getting the work done worked independently. The students who worked â€Å"smarter not harder† split to front and back pages and then copied so that they could finish and have free time. The second day of class was for the students to finish their sheet of work. The students that already finished earned free time. I saw this was a distraction for the students who were still working. They were constantly looing at the students that had free time and could not focus on the job they needed to complete. A few students rushed through their work to earn free time. I did not notice anyone checking their completed work. After this class knowing that all the students were finished I asked the teacher if I could see the answer key and review the students work. He gladly granted my request. Out of 30 students, only 5 students did a great job and it showed in their work that they cared about getting a good grade and had little to no incorrect answers. More than half of the students clearly did not care and wrote in bogus answers. The few that were left copied each other’s work and clearly did not care about what was written. The third day of class the students traded papers and corrected their work with the teacher. He went through every question and had them write in the correct answer if they got it wrong. This was the first time I saw interaction between the teacher and the students. There was no conversation about the information and how this may apply to the students today. The correction of the two sided paper took the whole hour period, mainly because the students were uninterested and wasted a lot of time talking. It was almost like the students did not know how to behave when the teacher was in front of the class. After the students were done correcting their work the teacher collected the papers and recorded their grades. The next day, which was day 4 and the 4th hour of instruction on this lesson, the teacher passed out their work with the correct answers and a similar paper that read â€Å"test†. This format was the same as the assignment and had sentences from the text with blanks for the student to write the correct answer completing the sentence. I reviewed the test and see that the answer or black portion for the student to fill in was the question in the assignment. The question in the assignment was the answer or blank portion in the test. The whole concept seemed a little easy for this age and to be honest very boring and redundant. The next day the teacher had the students watch a history movie on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The movie had more interest to the kids than the assignment that week. I was disappointed with the teaching aspect of this class. The teacher said he feels this â€Å"packet method† gets through the material and is repetitious for the kids to learn the material. I felt the kids were bored and had no desire to read the material. These kids especially strive for attention and most of the times do not have positive interactions with adults. The Constitution and Bill of Rights is a LARGE part of our history and after this week these kids did not have a better understanding or respect for our country and the rights they take for granted. The teacher and the children were not involved with each other at all with exception to correcting the assignment together. There are many things I would do differently. I would first, to get their attention, had out a blank piece of paper and ask them to make their own rights and make their own Constitution. I would have them do this to grab their interest in the lesson. These kids are more interested in what they think and what they want than anything else so I would use that and ask them what they want. I would then let them speak to the class about what they feel like they should have as right and why. This would teach the kids to respect the student speaking and also teach the kids courage to get up and speak in front of a group of their peers without using foul language. I would want to spark up a conversation about right and how important they are to each and every person. After that I would use the study guide the teacher created and read and answer the study guide as a class. I would also relate the lesson to what the students wrote in their own Bill of Rights. This was a great learning experience for me as an aspiring teacher. I would want more interaction within my classroom and my students. The students were very diverse in the aspect of some wanting to work, some not caring about the work, some unable to do work and some tweeners. I think having control of the classroom is the key in this environment. Being in front of the students and showing them you care about this and they should too, this is the philosophy I would do every day in class. I would have very little time in this environment where the student has the option when they are finished they would have free time. The only incentive there is the quicker you finish the quicker you can do whatever you want. I would have different incentives and a more positive environment that the kids could participate in with me, the teacher, the leader and their peers. In this type of school I feel with the curriculum you are also teaching life skills that they have not had the privilege of learning in their home environment. I cannot wait to have my own classroom and see the outcome of constant interaction and having the students give their personality to the lesson and assignments.

Older staff often come with more life experience and a willingness to Essay

Older staff often come with more life experience and a willingness to work - Essay Example â€Å"If employers don’t act soon, they will fail to win the war for talent, as older adults will be relied upon as one of the most important sources of talent for the future workforce (Jan 2007). The global survey, which included 28,000 employers across 25 countries and territories, found employers in the UK are far ahead of their international counterparts, with higher percentage of respondents, respectively, working proactively to retain their older employees. But in Italy and Spain, only 6% have such strategies in place. In 19 of the 25 countries, retention strategies were more predominant than recruiting strategies for older workers. This may be because many of these countries have government legislation or programs in place to encourage employers to retain older workers (Paula 2007). The aim of this topic is to understand and learn more on the recruitment of old employees and the strategies used. We also review the benefits and challenges associated with having an older workforce in companies. We also discuss aging population and recommend what action organizations should take to ensure they have a ready supply of labor in the future. We are also going to review why age diversity pensions are decreasing in value and on the other people are becoming more likely to still have financial obligations such as mortgages or student support, later in life. We are also going to go through what employers will need to consider how they can best become an employer of choice for older workers and how they can retain older workers in an increasingly competitive market place.     For some organizations this will mean a significant culture change.   Consider that 25-34 is the current favorite recruitment age of employers and The Employers Forum on Age has estimated that ag eism costs the United Kingdom economy over  £26bn each year.   This article  will help you to explore the issues that affect your capacity to be an age positive employer and

Life in the Ghettoes During the Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life in the Ghettoes During the Holocaust - Essay Example Before the Holocaust, European Jews had lived peacefully enjoying freedom and autonomy. The consequences of racism, discrimination, and anti-Semitism are explored in the holocaust. Life in ghettoes was tough, intolerable and unbearable. The Jews existed under the complete control of the Nazi guards who mistreated and even murdered them. Jewish councils were responsible for carrying out Nazi orders in the ghettoes. The living conditions were poor and people were very crowded, with the smallest ghetto housing about 3,000 people. The unsanitary conditions exposed people to many diseases especially the contagious diseases. Food was scarce forcing some people to beg or to be engaged in theft in order to earn their living. Sometimes in Warsaw ghetto, small children would crawl through narrow openings in the ghetto wall to smuggle food for their families and friends from the ‘Aryan side.’ In addition, smuggling of medicine, weapons or intelligence into the ghettoes via undergro und canals or by bribing guards at the gates was common. Moreover, in order to keep the ghetto residents alive, some Jewish council encouraged illicit trade of goods. Most people became weak due to hunger and exposure to cold made them be at high risk of contracting diseases. Over 75,000 people died of starvation, illness and cold, while other hopeless individuals killed themselves, leaving many children orphaned.By April 1941, mortality rate in the ghettoes had increased to more than six thousand people per month.

Closely watched Buffet recalculating his bets Essay

Closely watched Buffet recalculating his bets - Essay Example Even financial wizards like Mr. Buffet took a beating, amounting to around $25 billion in personal losses. However proving that he was made of sterner stuff, he took the initial beating and then decided to turn round this very crippling period of economic recession to his own advantage. Here he treaded paths where very few would have ventured and he dared to turn tides in his own favor. It was Mr. Buffet who advised the American government to bail out the plummeting financial market. It was again him who at the very middle of this turmoil advised all Americans to buy as many stocks as possible. And true to his given advice he led the way. Against all common sense and amidst general misgivings he decided to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs in September 2008. This was perhaps the boldest step ever taken by him in his entire career as a financial investor. After about eight days he declared that he was going to invest another $3billion in General Electrics which was at that time on ra ther shaky grounds. Mr. Buffet has labeled such companies as â€Å"sleeping beauties† as their stock market values are far lower than their actual book values. He believes in taking over such companies that are in turmoil and may look for takeovers or getting grounded. He invests in them by buying large amounts of stocks in the company and gets financial help in the form of concessions, in exchange. If we take a closer look at his modus operandi we will see a very sharp mind and a logical pattern of thinking behind these seemingly very absurd moves. As the Government sets off to bail out these companies to stabilize the failing economy we find that Mr. Buffet does not get any direct personal help. However, his stocks get the benefit of being bailed out by using the general taxpayers’ money. He invested in Goldman Sachs and General Electrics which all received financial bail outs from the government. So

Anton chekhov critic research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anton chekhov critic - Research Paper Example His is rather the cynical chuckle of a grown-up watching a child assume grimaces of deep earnestness and self-importance†. This is a unique type of humor that Chekhov captured masterfully in his early career and it is nice to see it appreciated by critics. This opinion of Chekhov is important because it shows that he did not take life too importantly. Many authors become overly serious about their craft and are unable to look at themselves objectively. This can completely ruin people, as once you begin taking yourself too seriously you lose your edge. In his earlier stories, Fagin claims that Chekhov had a much better sense of humour and did not take himself too seriously. This made these easier stories much more enjoyable to read, as â€Å"his earlier stories the laughable, and it is a more or less cheerful laugh, with little of the serious behind it† (Fagin). As Chekhov’s career carried on, however, Fagin noticed that he began to look at life differently and his stories suffered as a result. This is unfortunate, but it is probably a direct result of his upbringing in Russia and the social landscape during that time period. Fagin writes, â€Å"But as the stories grow more in volume, the undercurrent of gloom and a stifled groan of pain become more and more audible, until, in the later volumes, his laugh quite eloquently suggest the ominous combination of submission to Fate and Mephistophelian despair†. This shows that there was a fair amount of gloom in his life, as he did not know what the future would hold, but he did not believe that it would be positive for him and his country. No one knows for sure why Chekhov’s style of writing changed, but is very likely that the impact of the Russian political system had a major impact on it. This political system is though to be very dreary and to take a great deal of hope away from people, so it is possible that Chekhov essentially lost hope in life and that his writing shows this. No matter what the reason for

Mercedes Benz Customers Services Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mercedes Benz Customers Services - Case Study Example Mercedes Benz is a brand name for automobiles, trucks, buses, Lorries. At times, it is only referred as Mercedes or even Benz. Currently, the organization is known for making the most prestigious vehicles in the world. It serves customers from all over the world through their sales agents. The company was originally started for Daimler-Benz AG but it is currently owned by DaimlerChrysler AG. The history of the company dates back from 1926 when two companies Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie merged and came up with Daimler-Benz Company. The company vehicles are available in over 130 countries in the world through their select dealers.  The company deals with both individual and corporate clients from any part of the world who might be interested in purchasing a prestigious vehicle from their company. All their vehicles bear a brand name Mercedes Benz and it is currently the world’s leading automotive manufacturers. The company offer for sales their products to indiv idual clients who are interested in their vehicles either through the company itself or through their agents. Some clients have got the specification for the kind of vehicles they want, and for this case, their deliver their quotation to the firm’s manufacturing unit. Others just purchase their vehicles from the sales agents that are scattered at every part of the world. They also offer for sale their vehicles spare parts and for this case, the customers do not have to worry in case the car breaks down.   ... They also offer for sale their vehicles spare parts and for this case, the customers do not have to worry in case the car breaks down. The individual clients of the Mercedes Benz Company have different need and expectations for their vehicles depending on their tastes and preferences. The company has a number of Mercedes Benz models for their customers to choose from according to their different tastes and preferences. In case they still have not gotten a vehicle that fit the specification their need, they can contact the company for special order. For this case, they have an option of ordering their vehicles directly from the company's factory. Although this kind of order can take some time before the vehicle is delivered to the client, at least the customer finally get the kind of a vehicle he wanted according to his taste and preferences. Corporate Clients The company on the other hand deals with corporate clients who may need a number of vehicles for their organisation. For this case, they make a special arrangement with the company on the number of vehicles they need, their specifications and the delivery time for the vehicles. In such as case, these kinds of clients are given special discounts for ordering such a large number of fleet of vehicles. Some of the corporate clients that the company deals with are: governments from a number of countries; non-government organisation and private companies. In such a case, there is a special arrangement for corporate clients. When it comes to the corporate clients, they have some specification they may need for their vehicles and for this case, they may order directly from the factory plant in case they fail to get one from the models produced by the company. In such a case, these clients have to wait for

Trend Analysis for Myer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trend Analysis for Myer - Assignment Example A new building was built and completed in 1914. From this base, Myer build the largest departmental stores in Australia (Harold, 2010). The death of Sydney in 1934 saw the management passed to Elcon Myer. In 1938, Elcon Myer passed on, and the management was passed to their cousin, Norman Myer, who led the company till his death in 1956. Myer then grew by promoting growth in its own stores and acquiring other stores (Harold, 2010). Taking the 2009 sales to be the base of analysis, the recorded sales in 2011 and 2012 fairly decreased. However, the sales for 2010 recorded a higher score than 2009’s. This can be attributed to many factors. In this breakdown, the 2009 sales assume a 100% mark, using it as a benchmark to calculate the deviations in percentages for the various years. The performance of sales in the respective years affects the realized profits. In 2010, profits went up as compared to 2009. This exclusive performance as compared to 2011 and 2012 respectively, can be attributed to the increase in sales, cost of goods sold, operating income and expenses directly linked to sales. On 2010, the concession sale recorded an 8% increase from 2009 and remained persistent to the year 2011. In 2012, it gained another 4 % increase. This means that Myer increased its sales by allowing their goods and services to be sold under contract or license by other businesses, not related to the chain of stores, in the geographical area (Bell, 1990). It is astonishing that 2010, which recorded higher sales revenue in 2010 as compared to 2011 and 2012, realized the lowest profits. This performance can be attributed to the following factors; in the same year, the sale revenue realized under customer loyalty program was an increases figure of 12% from 2009. This figure does not contribute in determining the profitability of the business as it was deferred to the next financial year. The operating revenues in 2010 are much lower as compared to 2011

Academic Argument Essay Example for Free

Academic Argument Essay High school students today are all excited about post-college life, which for most means going away to college to further their education. The question is, are they truly being provided the necessary tools needed to be successful at the college levels? Are teachers, counselors, parents and the government both state and federal doing enough to lead these young minds out into the world? We all know how expensive college is and that only a small amount will graduate college and go on to live the life the always dreamed, but without a college education the odds are far worse. So shouldn’t every student who has aspirations of going on to college be awarded a little more preparation? The bottom line is we being parents, teachers, counselors, and the government needs to have better programs available for high school students so that the transition, that is already hard enough, is a little easier; as Benjamin Franklin once said â€Å"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. † (www . goodreads . com) The National of State Legislature defines college prep programs as â€Å"programs aimed to increase college access, particularly for those students who are least likely to enroll. These programs take many forms and serve a variety of students. Some start as early as elementary school, others in the senior year of high school. Some college preparatory programs focus on increasing academic readiness, while others specialize in college admissions or financial aid. Some involve families and mentors, and others incorporate service learning or recreational activities. †(www . ncsl . org/issues-research) What I want to know is where are these programs being used and what are they? In 2007 the NY Times published an article stating that only a  quarter of high school students who take a full set of â€Å"college prep† courses which include four years of English and three each of mathematics, science and social studies are well prepared for college according to a study by the ACT, and the Iowa testing organization. The study examined about 1. 2 million students who took the ACT, which is one of the country’s major college admissions tests, along with the SAT, and graduated from high school June of 2008. The study projected whether students had a good chance of scoring a C or better in introductory college  courses based on their test scores and the success rates of past students who had taken it previously. It showed that only 26 percent of those who took the core curriculum were ready for college level work in all four of the â€Å"college prep† core areas. Another 19 percent were not satisfactorily prepared in any of them. â€Å"While taking the right number of courses is certainly better than not, it is no longer enough,† the report said. †(www . nytimes . com) This quote really hits the nail on the head; just like how today’s Bachelor’s Degree is the equivalent of the high school diploma 20 years ago. This is an important issue in our society today, we want our young people to go to college to better their education but we can’t help them along the way. So how did it get to be so bad well in April 1983 the Secretary of Education and United States Department of Education saw that America ranked in the bottom half of education in the world so Ronald Regan declared â€Å"Nation At Risk† which kick-started decades of tough talk about public schools and reforms that culminated in 2002s No Child Left Behind, the Bush administration law that pushes schools to improve students basic skills or face ever-tougher sanctions. Jay Summer, an original teacher on the 1983 panel says â€Å"A true Cold War document, it famously stated: If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. (usatoday30 . usatoday . com/ â€Å"In 1999, Clifford Adelman, then a researcher at the federal Education Department, found that the strength of high school work was the most important factor in determining college success, more than the socioeconomic status of a student’s family. The new report, which cites Mr. Adelman’s research, makes the case that many high school courses are not providing the necessary quality that he described. † (www . nytimes . com) According to the National Center for Educational Statistics and a study done by the Harvard Graduate School, of the students who graduated college in 2011, only 56 percent graduated with four year degrees but took them six years. Also of those students in the same class 78 percent failed to receive a diploma at all. This study also showed the reasons for dropping out; which student claimed, â€Å"not being prepared for the rigors  of academic work; inability to cope with the competing demands of study, family and jobs; and cost† (www . reuters . com/article/2012) What we see here is that there have been attempts to make things better but they have slowly helped create the mess we have today. I have three points that will hopefully show how we can better this situation we are currently in. My first claim is that if we continue to ignore the fact that students today aren’t prepared for the struggles that await them at college then the dropout rate will continue to rise and effect the country as a whole. If students aren’t prepared for college then they either don’t go or most likely drop out. This affects the economy because if you have thousands of students not getting the proper education which leads to no jobs or low paying jobs, then the country can suffer. This leads to less students getting out into the work force or having very low paying jobs in which they can’t afford their monthly loan payments or other basic needs. With the economy being the way it is we can’t afford to let this happen. My second claim is that statistics show students who take extra or AP level courses perform better in college. In my high school there were luckily many extra courses available to help prepare us for college. I took College level English throughout my four years of high school. When I got to college and took the required English 101 course it was almost a mirror image as what I had previously taken. I was one of the few students who knew what MLA format was and how to use it in a paper. My school also offered AP Government, Calculus, English, Music Theory, which I also took, and Physics. I’m now in my third year of college and doing really well for myself. This just goes to show what  students can achieve with a little more preparation. Students put more pressure on themselves than ever before trying to achieve their goals. It’s up to us to take some of the pressure off them and give them a push in the right direction with more groundwork. My last claim is that students who finish college will have a better future for themselves and a family. Even with student loan debt at a high point these days with an education more financial opportunities are made available to students to deal with the burden of student loan debt. A degree from a technical institute is still better than a high school diploma. My cousin was a college dropout with two kids and no father to help support them. She worked two and three jobs sometimes just to keep her family afloat. One day she decided to take night classes at the local community college. Three years later she has an Associate’s degree in business and is making $20,000 more a year working only one job as opposed to three. She is more financially stable now and not so stressed all the time. Students may think that a high school diploma is enough but the sad truth is you can get the same jobs with a high school diploma that they are giving to 15 year olds at McDonalds. So what I’m trying to say is that if we don’t act now more students will continue to go down a road not knowing that they could have had more help. Education is the key to a better life for you and for a possible family which means better jobs and financial status, which today a lot of Americans lack. Of course some argue that a degree is the wrong path â€Å"Michael Nelson, 22, of Fayetteville, Georgia, retired from nearby LaGrange College during his freshman year. â€Å"I knew it wasnt going to take me where I wanted to go, he says. Now a gold and precious metals dealer, he made $85,000 in 2011. A lot of my friends are coming out of school with $50,000 in debt, Nelson says. They dont know how theyre going to survive because they dont have a job. † (www . reuters . com/article/2012) For some select few this is the case. But this is a rare case of someone who just happens to have a job fall in their lap. It is true that many high school graduates that never attended college or dropped out are doing just fine. Coal miners can make upwards of 100k and I’ve never met a coal miner who attended college. On the other hand I’ve never met a CEO or brain sergeant with high school diplomas. Statistics show that the average college graduate will make $19,550 more a year than someone with a high school diploma according to the U. S. Census Bureau. Also college students need to understand that the economy will not be this bad forever. If we can recover from the Great Depression then we can certainly find a way to fix this financial crisis. Today it’s tough for all people, including college graduates, to find a job and make a decent living. Many students believe that their best option would be to take a semester or two off from college for only a brief period of time and enter the workforce or  the military. The military’s financial benefits are very pleasing to young adults when they consider loan forgiveness programs and tuition compensation. The appeals of the military look great to college students that still believe that nothing bad can happen to them, but the reality of the dangers that young people face while serving abroad are very costly as most of us hear about on the news every week. Another reason kids shouldn’t chase the American dream of a college diploma is that they realize they don’t want the headache of the debt that most every college grad deals with. They know they can’t declare bankruptcy off of student loan debt so what other option do they have? Yet for some students, dropping out with loans can be worse than dealing with the debt. â€Å"Many college dropouts will face career barriers due to the lack of a degree, experts say. Current unemployment statistics show that those without a college degree are twice as likely to be unemployed as those with a bachelors degree. One way students and families can tilt the equation in their favor is to simply spend less, experts say. † If students are more reasonable and selective about where theyre going to get that degree, college costs are more  manageable, says Eleanor Blayney with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. At the very least they can do the first two years at a community college and then transfer. † (www . reuters . com/article/2012) So what we can see is that college is definitely the better route to take if you want a stable future. In conclusion there needs to be more or better programs for students who wish to attend college and succeed in life. You have seen the attempts made by the government to make it easier for students to learn and become better prepared for college, but the recent studies shows a  negative effect on the youths of today and possibly the youths of tomorrow. You have also seen a couple of reasons why I believe better programs will increase students’ academic levels in college; plus opposing arguments from those who think college is a waste of time and money and will only leave you in pile of debt. This in fact is far from the truth and leads me to believe that only people without a proper education could make such an accusation. Finally I hope that soon everyone who has the power to get involved in helping the future leaders of America will step up to the plate and take responsibility for the welfare of these young minds. The sad part is that the ones this affects the most, being high school students, have little to no say in the matter. The Obama administration has shown they have a huge interest in education with cutting student loan debt and making school lunches healthier. I can only hope this very important topic is next on their next to do list. Every student deserves a fair chance to achieve and it’s about time they get some. Franklin, Benjamin. â€Å"goodreads. † http://www . goodreads . com/quotes/tag/preparation.  © 2012 Goodreads Inc. â€Å"College Preparatory Programs. † http://www . ncsl . org/issues-research/educ/college-preparatory- programs-types-of-programs . aspx.  ©2012 National Conference of State Legislatures Arenson, Karen W. â€Å"Study Finds College-Prep Courses in High School Leave Many Students Lagging. † http://www . nytimes . com/2007/05/16/education/16report . html? _r=0. May 16, 2007 Plitt, Todd. â€Å"Nation at Risk: The best thing or the worst thing for education? † http://usatoday30 . usatoday . com/news/education/2008-04-22-nation-at-risk_N . htm. Copyright 2011 USA TODAY The National Commission on Excellence in Education. â€Å"A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform†http://datacenter . spps .org/uploads/SOTW_A_Nation_at_Risk_1983 . pdf. April, 1983 Carlozo, Lou. â€Å"Why college students stop short of a degree. † http://www . reuters . com/article/2012/03/27/us-attn-andrea-education-dropouts- idUSBRE82Q0Y120120327. Tue Mar 27, 2012 â€Å"College Students Should Stay in School. † http://bestessayhelp . com/examples/education/college-students-should-stay-in-school- %E2%80%93-essay-sample.  © 2010 2012 Global Writers Limited â€Å"Summer at Georgetown†. http://scs . georgetown . edu/programs/107/summer-programs-for-high- school-students-college-preparatory-program.  © 2012 Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies.

Healthcare Organisation Internal and External Influences

Healthcare Organisation Internal and External Influences Introduction Constructing a plan of business assists one with the establishment of a new business and assisting it to develop. Most entrepreneurs who build up business plans typically do well opposed to those who do not. A plan of business assists in representing the objective of one’s business. It assists others to be familiar with ones vision concerning the business, in addition to helps one to be clear on what precisely he desires to accomplish in the course of the business. This consecutively assists one to conduct appropriate research regarding the market and assemble adequate information regarding the business he is selecting. Political, economic, and social forces Political, economic, and social forces occupy a significant role when extending health care organizations. It is extremely significant that one cautiously widens the organization to avert as lots of down falls as probable. The political force that occupies a significant function in growth of health care clinic is the funds. It is extremely indispensable that one cautiously illustrates what the funds or money for a business will be utilized for. The entire things have got to be cautiously planned out or instance the budget that would be employed for acquiring the needed equipment, the programs that would be employed, to remunerate the staff, etc.. That is the mainly significant step of all. Social forces that directed the expansion of the clinic were the places of development and its patients. The financial system is continuously shifting; consequently the place of development is significant. One has to establish the clinic in a renowned suburban area when the population are huge in numbers. A business developing in a small area where poverty is higher would be a prospective fall down for an organization or business. Social and Economic conditions that have an effect on people’s lives establish their health. People who are poor are not as much of expected to seek out appropriate medical care, as against to people who are of status of middle-class and above. People with additional money, social status, and education have several choices and power above things, for instance the neighborhoods, occupational opportunities, their salaries, etc. A lot of entrepreneurs not succeed the initial time around. It is merely a risk that individual has to take. Failing the initi al time is sometimes a positive thing. It provides the individual the prospect to perceive where he or she went wrong the initial time around and what can be done to avert that from incident again. It is all regarding learning and experiencing from ones mistakes. Mission Statement A mission statement explains what an organization is, why it subsists, and its cause for being. One’s mission statement at least, must describe who ones principal customers are, recognize the products and services one will construct, and explain the environmental location in which one will function (Mission statement, ). Our mission is to incessantly advance the care and quality of the business and the services we offer. We are in addition committed to making sure that our patients are fine taken care of and that their needs are met. What is a business or corporation devoid of contented customers? It is just similar to taking care of our own. Parents make certain that our children’s needs are met, that they are taken care of, and that they are at all times satisfied. Our objective is to proffer outstanding care and service to our patients and their families. In addition, we desire to ensure that our staff persists to offer our patients with the supreme care and respect that they be worthy of. Our dedication to this business is to do just that. Performance Measures Performance measures in an organization or business are extremely significant. Measuring levels of performance assists in the business success. It assists the business to flourish. Companies are competent to take the results, whether negative or positive, and advance the business. Teams of Community health service must be assessed similarly to any additional health care team, by means of the operational facets of cost, demand, satisfaction of worker, quality, efficiency, and satisfaction of customer (White Griffith, 2010). Performance measures that I would deem employing within the organization would be surveys of patient satisfaction, patient return and comment cards,. Surveys of Patient satisfaction essentially let the patient to rate his or her on the whole experience of the organization of health care. Several times surveys can rate from sturdily agree to firmly disagree or from 1 to 10 with 10 being the finest. Surveys can be conducted in several diverse ways. Surveys can be co mpleted online, on paper, or above the phone. Comment cards are an additional immense source of performance measure. A lot of times comment cards are in the business place and placed in an expedient area for the patient to use. Do not expect a positive feedback merely since somebody fills out a comment card. If one obtains a negative comments card, turn it into a positive. Some might look at it as an awful thing; however I look at it as means to develop the business and keep up the patients contented. Running an organization is not all regarding creation of a profit it is regarding keeping the patients, clients, customers, etc. contented. Devoid of them, how can one profit. An additional performance measure that I would utilize to allow performance would be customer revisits. What I imply is how many patients revisit and how frequently for regular visits. All performance measures are significant. No measure out numbers other since they all offer feedback in some type of means whethe r in words or numbers. Expansions Several entrepreneurs sense the need to expand their clinics. If I were to ever question expanding the clinic, there are a lot of things that I would take into account. Primary thing I would examine if there is a requirement to expand the clinic of healthcare. Secondly, I would check the budget to perceive if there were adequate funds to expand. Whether a manager decides to expand, he or she has to acquire the funds from someplace. Even if the manager choose to borrow money, it is yet essential to verify the budget to perceive if there are adequate funds there to let the business owner to pay back the loan above a phase of time. Another significant key feature to observe when considering expansion is the numeral of staff members on board and the figure of patients. One should not expand when one desires to, but should expand at the right time. Business Plan Business plans are extremely indispensable when in an industry. The foremost purpose of an annual business plan is to establish an action plan and strategy for the business. It is significant to appraise business plans yearly to perceive if anything needs to be changed consecutively to maintain the business operation smoothly. If anything does not have to be changed, it is yet imperative to scrutinize ones business plan yearly to be certain that it can be utilized for another profitable and successful year. Role of the Clinic Our health system is broken and a great deal of the problem relies with the disintegration of our system of delivery which compels low quality and unproductive care in a nation filled with extremely skilled professionals of health care. The US lacks a particular set of policies or national entity to guide the doctors, health care system, and hospitals practicing in the similar community and caring for the similar patients are not â€Å"associated† to each other. Our existing healthcare payment model with a blend of public programs and private insurers each with its individual set rules additional fragments the health care delivery system, causative to high and waste administrative costs. The Affordable Care Act offers prospect for delivery system reform to make certain that patients are getting the accurate care at the accurate time in a collaborative, coordinated, and efficient manner. Healthcare Policy The public healthcare policy has influenced the configuration of outpatient clinics in the system of healthcare in a foremost way. Outpatient care has substantially increased above the year. Outpatient care is lesser expensive to build and operate, meaning that it is additional reasonable than building big hospitals. It is even additional rational for communities in addition. Where I am from more people are inclined to go to the convenient care as a substitute of the hospital for trivial problems. Outpatient care First and foremost, is less costly, and secondly, it is lesser time of waiting. The means that the economy is at the moment and with the rate of unemployment progressively on the rise, outpatient care is more reasonable for many. Even though some outpatient facilities are diverse, meaning a few are larger than others, the structures of business are similar. When I say they are similar, I imply they are comparable as far as in services provided, the cost, care and personal at tention patients obtain, etc. Outpatient facilities are a great deal easier to care for and continue than a large hospital. Conclusion Maintaining an organization of health care is hard work, but somebody has to do it. It is a lot easier if one pursues the procedures and guidelines that are position into place for organizations of such. References Mission statement. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/mission-statement The importance of creating business plans outlines. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wahm.com/articles/the-importance-of-creating-business-plan-outlines.html White, K., Griffith, J. (2010). The well-managed healthcare organization. (7th ed., p. 299). Chicago, IL: Library of congress.

Frank Sinatra Essays -- Essays Papers

Frank Sinatra Howard Cosell, a legendary commentator, spoke words about this legendary man that more or less sums up his legendary career. He said "Frank Sinatra, who has the phrasing, who has the control, who understands the composers, who knows what losing means as so many have, who made the great comeback, who stands still, enduringly, on top of the entertainment world. Ladies and gentlemen, from here on in it's Frank Sinatra!" Frank Sinatra, the only singer in history to have hit records in five consecutive decades, led a lot more distinctive life than people were led to believe. It all began December 12, 1915, when a boy named Francis Albert Sinatra was brought into the world. He was the son of Dolly and Anthony Sinatra, a pair of Italian immigrants. He was born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey where he spent his teenage years unloading trucks for the Jersey Observer newspaper. He then became a copy boy where he found a passion to strive for, journalism. However, the editor at the newspaper said, â€Å"copy boys don’t know enough to be reporters.† So, Sinatra went to secretarial school. He studied English, typing, and shorthand. The newspaper’s editor eventually promoted him to cub sports reporter After achieving his goal to be a journalist, Frank had another passion to strive for, singing. In his spare time, Sinatra appeared in on Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which was a popular radio talent show back in the day. Frank had never been taught to sing he taught himself. He was a natural. So the head of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour promoted Frank. For $25 a week he sang, waited tables, was the master of ceremonies, and a comedian at The Rustic Cabin. In 1939 a man by the name of Harry James discovered Frank while visiting The Rustic Cabin. He immediately signed Frank to sing for his new swing band. After touring with Harry James, Frank started to sing for with Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra. After recording more than 90 songs with them, Frank moved on. He then moved to the popular radio show The Lucky Strike Hit Parade, where he worked as the MC. Frankie was a hit! Everyone loved him. He was the first teen model the country had ever seen. Amazingly enough, he almost caused a near riot at New York’s Paramount Theater in 1944.He then signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1943 and left in 1952. So in 1953 he signed another contrac... ... a severe tragedy, a heart attack. It was the first heart attack Frank had ever had. For the next couple years Frank had not been seen in public. In 1998, Frank was back in the news. Unfortunately, it was about Frank’s Health. Sinatra had died of a heart attack at age 82 on May 14. The nation was astounded. This was the biggest music celebrity news since TuPac’s death. News channels everywhere interrupting their broadcasts for this special bulletin. The first teen idol that the country had ever seen was dead. The most ingenious singer the country had ever seen was dead. It was the second time the music had died. His life has touched the world and has forever changed the art of singing, as we know it. Works Cited William, Dean. â€Å"Sinatra, Frank.† Internet. March 14 2000. Available WWW.http://articles.eb.com. Schoemer, Karen. â€Å"The Kid from Hoboken.† Newsweek. May 25 1998: 57. â€Å"Sinatra, Frank.† Internet. March 14 2000. Available WWW. http://search.biography.com. Wilson, Jeff. â€Å"Sinatra outspoken†. Internet. March 14 2000. Available WWW http://www.nj.com. â€Å"Sinatra, Frank†. The World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 17 S-Sn. World Book Inc. 93’.

The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson and Lady of Shalott by Liz Loched Essay

The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson and Lady of Shalott by Liz Loched In this essay I will compare and contrast the two poems, "The lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and "Lady of Shalott" by Liz Lochhed. The two poems have very similar ideas and themes but are written in two very different styles. "The Lady of Shalott" is set in medieval times and is about a young woman trapped in a tower. She cannot leave the tower or even look out the window, as she believes that if she does a curse will come upon her. So she sits in her tower weaving and watching the people outside using a mirror. "Lady of Shalott", the second poem is set in the 20th century and is about a teenage girl getting ready for a youth club dance. As she's getting dressed she prays that she'll find a boyfriend at the dance, but in the end she returns home disappointed. The first poem, "The Lady of Shalott" is written in ballad form and has a rhythm or beat that goes A-A-A-A-B-C-C-C-B. The first part of the poem is written in a very flowing style, "On either side the river lye Long fields of barley and of rye" The way it is written makes all the verses flow together as they build up a picture of the town of Camelot. This part uses a lot of descriptive words and language, "Four gray walls, and four gray towers, Overlook a space of flowers." This works very effectively and gives you a clear picture in your mind as to how the area looks. The writer also uses imagery when he says "Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott" this suggest that the Lady is not quite real and is a reference to a kind of fantasy theme, which runs through the poem. The second part of the poem is writ... ...es between the poems as similarities though. The main differences between the two poems are the styles in which they are written. Where the first poem has a constant rhythm and rhyme scheme the second poem is written in free verse with no pattern. Another difference is the language used in the two poems. The first poem uses a lot of flowing descriptive words whereas the second poem is much more abrupt with less descriptive language. In conclusion, I would say that although the two poems have similar themes-of love and romance-they are totally different. I would say that I prefer the second poem to the first, as it is more modern. The first poem is really long and old-fashioned and written in a kind of old style language. The second is more up-to-date and easier to read and understand, so it's my favourite of the two.

Omar Epps Essay -- Actor Love and Basketball Movies Essays

Omar Epps In the movies, Love and Basketball, and The Program the viewer can see various similarities that develop. One of the obvious comparisons can be seen in how the actor Omar Epps performs and the similar situations he’s faced with. In both films, he goes through struggles and reveals the life of a highly recruited athlete. The Program is produced by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., while Love and Basketball is produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kitt. Love and Basketball is a movie that combines a love story with how basketball affects the relationship of two high school sweethearts. The two main characters in the movie are Quincy and his girlfriend, Monica. Quincy is played by Omar Epps and the story begins with showing how he is a very talented athlete in the central part of Los Angeles. He goes to a high school by the name of Crenshaw and is the leader of their well-known basketball team. By the end of his senior year, many colleges around the nation want him to come and represent their school. Quincy eventually tells all of his fans and supporters he has chosen to go to the University of Southern California. In the mean time, his soon to be girlfriend, Monica, is also expected to attend the same college. Later in the movie, Quincy and Monica get together and problems start to rise. Because Quincy is so popular with all the girls on campus he ends his relationship with Monica and starts his quest for the right girl to m arry. On another note, throughout the movie a very noticeable trait that Quincy displays is his confidence. For instance, Quincy always seems to get what he wants and his attitude towards everything is he will eventually be the best. This is mostly seen in his actions around girls and on the bask... ...et with Autumn because he is confident in his capabilities. Another correlation between the two films is the family problems they face. Each character comes from a home where the parents aren’t together anymore or they really never knew them. Lastly, Omar Epps is rewarded with the girl of his dreams in each motion picture, and it ends in a fairy tale fashion. Looking at each movie, the observer can see why Omar Epps was chosen for the main roles. He does a great job of presenting a college athlete faced with hardships and how to deal with adversity. His actions in both movies are comparable and because he plays an athlete, they have the same general theme. Each performance feeds off the other and after making The Program, Spike Lee and Sam Kitt probably thought Omar Epps would be perfect for Love and Basketball. In the end, he did a pretty good job.

What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up

Ever since I was small, people always ask me â€Å"What do you want to be when you grow up? † I used crayons to illustrate my dream career. My drawing was hung in the hallways for my parents to see. I remember the typical careers of my kindergarden class- ballerinas, firefighters, singers, and astronauts. I remembered mine. My picture showed a stick figure with black hair holding a mic. Underneath the beautiful drawing, I wrote â€Å"When I grow up, I want to be a singer. To this day I can still remember my youth self wanting to sing and perform on a big stage. When I was younger, questions like this were asked very often. I answered these types of questions with silliness, never thought it was likely to come true. However, as I am getting older, I realized that now I'm suppose to answer this question with confidence and mean what I say. Teenagers are expected to know exactly what they want to be and should be able to give good reasons why. Now that I am a teenager, I still d on't exactly know what I want to be.Doctors, lawyers, dentists, business managers are all great jobs; however, I don't think my parents or any parents in fact, had ever sat down with their children and ask them â€Å"What do you want to be when you grow up? † If I have to answer this question, I would say â€Å"happy†. All I want to do in my grown up life is to be happy. In my opinion, if you hate your career, it's mostly unlikely for you to enjoy it. The fun part of being an adult is that you get to choose who you want to be and make your own decisions.Happiness isn't something you can buy with money. I feel like society today is all about money. The so called â€Å"good† jobs are usually the jobs that make the most money. I know money is pretty powerful, but it still has its limits. Money can't buy us happiness nor health. In my opinion, being happy isn't as easy to achieve as people think. Sometimes, it is even possible for happiness to spread. Being happy is n't going to be easy in any way, sometimes people underestimate the power of happiness. Therefore, my dream for now is to be happy when I grow up.But my ultimate goal in my life is to make everyone around me happy, I want to bring happiness in the people I love. I don't have a specific plan to determine how I'm going to make everyone happy but all I know now is that if you are not happy yourself, no one around will be happy. Happiness is a destination for everyone. We may want to try different paths in life, but I think we all want to be happy wherever we end up. Life is rough sometimes, but if you are optimistic about it, you will concur your failure. Happiness.

History of Atlanta Essay

Even by the standard of America, Atlanta is a young city. Even before it became a settlement, such cities like Cincinnati, Charleston, Chattanooga and New Orleans were already thriving cities. Atlanta can be said to be a bright, aggressive and brash town with the rough ages smoothed by time. The city dashes with the charm of the south. Atlanta has a unique and proud heritage despite its relatively young age and has a past that is worth being preserved. Even though Atlanta was in the South, it was not however of the south from the beginning. It begun as a small railway crossing. As such, it was established as a railway terminus. The culture, values and mores of the town resembled those of the frontier towns of the Old West than of the cities of the Old South. The catalyst for its growth and economy still remains transportation. The city always attracted men and women who possessed vision from the beginning, the opportunists who possessed the foresight to offer the facilities that would make Atlanta become one of the most important cities in the Southeast. The Creek and Cherokee Indians owned the land that is now Atlanta some one hundred and fifty years ago (Robert, 1981). When the first white settlement was founded on the banks of the Chattahoochee River near the Indian village of Standing Peachtree, the United States was well into war. This was in the year eighteen twelve. The white people and the Indians lived together until the year eighteen thirty five when the leaders of Cherokee nation consented under the Treaty of New Echota to leave their lands and move west. During this period, the Cherokee lands were officially under the possession of Georgia, an act that resulted into the infamous Trail of Tears. Farmers and craftsmen from the mountains of North Georgia, Carolinas and Virginia were the early settlers in the area of Atlanta. These early settlers were in most part hardworking and deeply religious. Through lottery disbursements, they came to possess their lands. They lived in harmony and peace with their Indian neighbors. They also owned a few slaves. They built schools and churches. They often traveled to Decatur to trade besides marketing their cotton in Macon which was a hundred miles to the south. In the antebellum south, this society was as close to being termed yeoman as possible. In the metropolitan Atlanta area, some of their pre-Civil War churches, homes, mills and cemeteries are still in existence. The inception of Atlanta was the integration of necessity and geography made possible by the steam engine. The construction of a trade route from the coast of Georgia to the Midwest was voted by the Georgia General Assembly in the year eighteen-thirty six. It was meant to be a state railroad which was to facilitate trade between the state and other regions. The terminal for the railroad was to be at the sparsely populated Georgia Piedmont. It was to run from a particular point on the Tennessee line close to the Tennessee River, starting near Rossville to a point on the Southeastern bank of the Chattahoochee River that could be easily accessed by the branch railroads (Reed, 2006). The name of the railroad was to be the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia. Stephen Harriman Long, an army engineer with a wealth of experience, was offered the task of finding the most practical route foe the new rail line. He chose a site that was eight miles south of the river. The Indian trails and connecting ridges converged at this point. This point that he chose proved to be just the right site with an ideal climate. The stake was driven near the present Five Points in Downtown Atlanta. Atlanta is positioned in the Piedmont Plateau with an elevation of one thousand ands fifty feet yet no natural barriers can impede on the growth of the city. Atlanta grew developed like the towns in the West between the periods that long drove his stake on the ground and the beginning of the civil war. Gold was stroke in the rail lines instead of mining. Opportunists, salesmen, merchants, craftsmen and land speculators were soon attracted by the railroad workers’ little settlement which was aptly named Terminus. What followed were the warehouses, ironworks, textile industry, sawmills and banks. The city later came to be called Marthasville in honor of the Governors daughter. However, prominent citizens considered this mane to be too long and bucolic for the progressive city and hence were changed to Atlanta. The patterns of settlement were slowly being formed. A substantial merchant residential community known as Mechanicsville thrived around the rail yards. Near the White Hall Tavern grew the West End. Luxurious home begun to be built on Marietta, Whitehall, Broad, lower Peachtree and Washington Street as residential avenues of important citizens begun to be established. However, pre-War Atlanta was not a quiet business community. According to Franklin Garrett, the town was classified as tough even as the number of good, moral citizens increased. The city distinctively developed as a railroad center with vices that were characteristic to rough frontier settlements. Gambling dives, brothels, resorts and drinking were normal in the city and the sporting elements were insulting on their defiance of the public order (Robert, 1981). When the Civil War erupted, Atlanta was already an important city. It had a population of more than ten thousand individuals, banks, manufacturing and retail shops, four rail lines, banks, carriage and wheelwright shops, three thousand eight-hundred homes, tanneries, warehouses, mills and iron foundries. It became an important shipping and supply center for the Confederacy. It also possessed the facilities which made it necessary for the Union forces, led by Sherman, to seize and destroy it. In July 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman began his campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta. The city surrendered to his forces on September 2 after a series of battles and a siege of the city lasting for a month. The city was on fire not because of Union shells but mainly due to the box of explosives that the retreating Confederates blew up. Evacuation of the city and the destruction of buildings that could be used by the confederates were ordered by Sherman. By the time Sherman started his march to the sea, the only structures left standing in Atlanta were about four hundred buildings. The city became a ghost town of ashes and rubble. When the residents came back and begun rebuilding the town, the city was still smoldering. The residents came back with a new and stronger spirit than before. Their confidence in the future of Atlanta grew and within five years after the holocaust, the city was rebuilt and its prewar population redoubled. The city adopted a new form of architecture which waxes popular during that era since the original antebellum architecture was almost entirely destroyed during the period of the war. However, some of the few fine whitewashed columned mansions that were in downtown Atlanta survived even though others were later destroyed to provide room for state and city buildings. The limits of the city were originally circular and extended one mile from the zero milepost. Its initial expansions were circular too. The demographic patterns of the city were reestablished as before the war. West End continued to thrive as a residential business community of the upper class. Along the Peachtree and Washington Streets, wealthy white citizens established and built Victorian mansions. Prosperous black enclaves also developed despite the fact that segregation existed in the city. These enclaves were concentrated along Auburn Avenue after 1906. Summerhill, Vine City and many other residential pockets around the central city emerged as black neighborhoods. The city experienced rapid growth from the time that the Civil War ended through the last decade of the nineteenth century. The central business district expanded from Union Depot toward the it’s limits by the end of eighteen seventy (Best of Images of America, 2000). The city was dissected by a path of railroad tracks which converged in the lower downtown gulch. The flow of traffic over the tracks was facilitated by the construction of a network of viaducts that were planned in the turn of the twentieth century and completed twenty five years later. The business district was moved to another level by the viaducts which led to the establishment of another area that is presently known as Underground Atlanta. For the railroad depots, a simple utilitarian Italianate architecture was encouraged and this influenced so much the design of the design of the commercial buildings that were constructed before the turn of the century. The foundation of Atlanta’s economy within this period still became the railroads. This continued through to the Second World War when emphasis shifted to truck and air transport. The city’s growth was spurred by transportation and private enterprise. In the final decade of nineteenth century, new rail lines were added to the city’s network. Its dominance as southeast’s railroad center became established with the consolidation of ten radiating lines within that decade which included divisions of Southern Railway totaling five. With the recession and depression of the economy of the nation in the nineteen eighties, a series of fairs and expositions were staged by an Atlanta promoter to attract business in this area. In an attempt to establish a new economic base in the postwar south, the International Cotton Exposition was staged in 1881. Atlanta was advertised as a commercial and transportation center by the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 which made Atlanta to emerge as one of the major cities of the Southeast. The Exposition became recognized worldwide and by 1903, many regional and national companies had their headquarters in Atlanta. The growth of Atlanta as an industrial base, contrasting it with the rest of the south which was inclined toward agriculture, came as a result of the fair and exposition. Industrial complexes were established along the rail lines, textile mills also came south and mill villages were also constructed to house the workers. The residential perimeters also expanded with the introduction of horse drawn street car in the 1871. There was also the emergence of several private developers. Among the notable private developers was Joel Hurt who built the fast skyscraper in Atlanta. He also established the first planned residential suburb in Atlanta. Atlanta adopted the Chicago school of architecture in the establishment of skyscrapers of elevator buildings. The city’s skyline was transformed from the picturesque High Victorian to a collection of multipurpose skyscraper office buildings and hotels. These new buildings attracted a large railroad and insurance. Atlanta’s distinctive personality is offered by the early commercial buildings and the Victorian and post-Victorian settlements that were build between 1890 and 1930. Atlanta in the southeast’s capital city, a future city with strong ties to the past, its soul being the old in the new, a heritage that enhances the quality of life in a modern city.

Shangri-La Hotel and Resort

[pic] Prepared By: Yee Shan (Sarah) CHUNG, Yan Sin (Jessy) LI, Kim Sang (Anson) HO, Kit Yat (Donald) TAI Table of Contents 1. Introduction3 2. Summary of Macro Environment4 3. Summary of Industry Analysis8 4. Summary of Internal Analysis12 5. Gap Analysis14 6. Recommendations22 7. Appendices26 8. References52 1. Introduction Since the parent company, the Kuok Group, is established in 1949 and until 1979 the home-grown Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, was opened its doors in 1971 and it was opened under the management of Western International Hotels.However, Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd was founded in 1982 and from that time until now, Shangri- La endeavoured through countless challenged from the Asian financial crisis to the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and a lot of other challenges, Shangri- La Hotels and Resorts (SLHR) recently was announced and located its properties premier city addresses and some of the world's most exotic destinations across Asia, Middle East, North Am erica and Europe. As of 2006, SLHR was the largest Asian – based deluxe hotel group in Southeast Asia.The company managed a total of 50 hotels under three brands: the five-star Shangri-La, the four-star Traders and Kerry – with total inventory of over 23000 rooms across 39 locations. Furthermore, SLHR also join the stock market of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. As of SLHR’ mission statement â€Å"To delight our guests every time by creating engaging experiences straight from our heart†, SLHR also produce new product differentiation such as Chinese theory spas which named the â€Å"Chi† in most of its organization.The success of SLHR does not stop there expanding its market or increase their inventory, but the management always concern its competitors who can bring the better product and service base on SLHR’s ones. SLHR management also requires having strategies for long term running the organization. The aim of this strategic analysis re port is to create vision for organization in future; by identifying and analysing the major macro-environmental trends which believe the major issues affect to the future growth of SLHR.The report also quickly examines the five forces within the industry analysis to rough idea the current effectiveness of the industry and also based on evidences to expect the future profitability of SLHR. Besides, to create the advantage competitive of SLHR, all of internal operations in term of resources and capabilities could inspect. Moreover, to have an overall the difference between the desired situation and the actual situation of SLHR, a gap analysis will be point out for bringing all analysis together and base on this analysis gap, organization will have an overall difference.Lastly, it is definitely not absent in this report will be a list of recommendations which help formulating for SLHR in relation to achieve to greater its position in all markets in the future. 2. Summary of Macro Envir onment Macro environment or PESTE analysis is the first step in creating the Environmental Analysis. The macro environment examines the general business climate as it relates to the organisation, but the organisation has nothing to do with it. It has an impact to influence Shangri-La Hotels by four different factors, such as Political or Legal, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technology and Environmental.These four factors had been analysed in the Appendix 1, which is based on the Shangri-La over the world. The Global economic has more negative factors that impact the Hotels, Global Financial Crisis nowadays is one of the big issues for most of the industries around the world, as it leads recession which will affect the finance of the countries or industries. Because of the Global Financial Crisis, the unemployment rate of some countries is still increasing in the beginning of 2012, such as Euro Area increased to 11%, Italy increased to 10. 0%, Spain and Greece has increased over 20%, but some of the countries are decreasing such as Japan, Thailand, Turkey and Hong Kong(Trade Economic, 2012). The unemployment rate is increasing because of the cost of labour is increasing as well which the current financial situation is not good enough to support. People are more concern on price or become price sensitive now because of global financial crisis, as they will think the product is worth with the listed price or not.Some of the countries had announced Carbon Tax scheme which will affect the hotels, as every organisations need to pay a certain amount for the carbon that they produced. These negative factors may leads the guests rarely go travel and stay in hotels because they have less income, as the net income of Shangri-La Hotels Group had decreased to $253. 0 million (Bloomberg Business Week, 2012). However, the Gross Domestic Product around the world is increasing while the inflation is decreasing in most of the countries. Same as the Economic factors, the Political a lso has more negative factors impact the hotels.Over 90% of the countries had established a legislation of minimum wages, the legislation is to prevent the employers when there is the intense market competition and they in order to save costs, at the same time the wages of the employees are unable to meet their basic needs. On the recent years, there are some conflict occurs between nations, for example, there was two attackers rammed a border post with a rubbish truck and threw two grenades, and then attacked policemen with knives in Kashgar, Beijing; and a roadside bomb explosion in Diwaniyah.The most recent hotel bombing is the Marriott Jakarta bombing in 2009 because of terrorism which leads at least 9 people killed and 50 people injured. For a hotel chain as Shangri-La, the properties are everywhere in the world, they need to prevent and consider about the location’s political issues before or after they take over or establish a new Shangri-La. On the other hand, some na tions have a legislation to control the people own arms or guns. But when the numbers of arms holding increase, the country and properties need to increase the insecurity as well (Shah, 2011).By having legislation of arms controlling is good for Shangri-La. As in 21st Century, everything is being high technology which means there are lots of new technology products invested and announced into the market such as 3D televisions and surrounding audio systems. When those products had announced to public, the guests may expect the hotels will have one of these products in house. Most of the technology factors are neither positive nor negative impact for Shangri-La, as the number of the internet users is increasing rapidly every year, nearly everyone will have at least one computer and smartphone.When most people have at least one technology product, some of the companies will start produce some up-to-date communication softwares and some new applications will announce to the sociality. B y the time when the number of internet users is increasing rapidly, Shangri-La can take advantages from that, as they can do marketing via internet, especially the social networks (e. g. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace). The guests can book a room via their official website or some travel agents website, and Shangri-La can announce the latest news on their official website and social networks for the guests to read.For the industry, the socio-cultural has average impact. As the population in the world is increasing which is good for all the industries, there are more consumers to consume their products. But at the same time, the fluctuating death rate is increasing which is the age population is increasing as well, because the medical technology has been improving year by year, the people will have longer life than the past. Most of the people will expect a better quality of life, such as for living and for travelling, they would like to have good experience on everything, especially on travelling and accommodation.Multi-cultural is a good for the business as well, because Shangri-La can adopt the culture and develops a different experience for the guests, for example, in India, Shangri-La can design an Indian style hotel to cater and adopt the environment to attract the guests to stay in. However, because of different culture and the religion of the culture, they need to understand and get known about these before they establish the hotel in a country or city. In addition, there are several environmental issues that affect the industry, for example, natural disasters will occur in some countries such as Earthquakes, Floods, Tsunamis and Hurricanes.Nowadays, natural disasters had become more serious and more often, because of the climate change within a decade and global warming, ozone depletion are caused primarily by increases in â€Å"greenhouse† gases as Carbon Dioxide. Due to the natural disasters and the global warming, the lands will be destroyed and lead land shortage. Land shortage will influence Shangri-La as there is no enough land for it to build new hotels, it can make them could not expand their business.While they building new hotels or running existed hotels, pollutions will be produced, for example, building new hotels will produce lots of dust and the lighting of running existed hotels as the light will open 24hours 7days. On the other hand, 3Rs policy has been announced as Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, the government encourages people to reuse and recycle the products that they used. According to Lincoln (2007) Shangri-La have a wide of environmentally friendly measures such as fitting all guestrooms with water saving device in taps and showers as well as using energy-saving lamps in more than half of the group’s guestrooms.For saving energy and resources, Shangri-La has variety of methods, as by rainwater harvesting, hot water production using solar panels or heat pumps and improvements in building envelope desi gn to reduce heat loss or heat gain as well as air filtration. Shangri-La also has several methods to reduce the greenhouse gases, such as through existing systems and processes, the use of new technologies and alternative energy sources and by building more efficient buildings. In summary, the luxury hotel industry has opportunities and threats associated with the macro environment. There is variety of positive, balanced and negative trends.There are still opportunities for reasonable growth in this industry despite the threats. 3. Summary of Industry Analysis Industry environment has a more direct effect on the firm’s strategic competitiveness and ability to earn above-average return as compare to the general environment (Misangyl et. al, 2006). Hitt et. al (2011, p. 51) mention â€Å"Industry analysis will be using the five forces model of competition such as the threats posed by new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, product substitutes, and the inten sity of rivalry among competitors to understand the profitability potential within the industry†.The strength and interaction of the five competitive forces are what influence profit potential. This section will discuss about the industry analysis of hotel industry and a more detailed analysis can be seen in Appendix2. The threat of entrants in the hotel industry is not significant which leads to high industry profitability. New entrants need to have sufficient amount of budget in order to build and run the hotel such as require substantial upfront investment in building, specialized equipment, infrastructure and staffs.Products and services are easy to replicate in hotel industry, therefore, brand identity is the differentiator in the hotels. It is difficult for new entrants to gain access to the capital requirements needed to develop and build hotel. The industry’s incumbents have established relationships and experience, which enables them to achieve significant cost savings. In addition to brand loyalty and costs the new entrants must also contend with the probability of retaliation from the established hotels. The xisting businesses in the industry have a high degree of absolute cost advantages as they have built good relationship and trust between the suppliers and customers. The number of suppliers to the hotel industry is extremely high. The types of suppliers for hotels include construction suppliers, monopoly suppliers such as electricity, gas and water, furniture suppliers, linen and bedding suppliers, food suppliers, decor suppliers, appliance suppliers, uniform suppliers and most importantly then staffs. The suppliers have medium bargaining power which will affect the attractiveness and profitability of the industry.There is high concentration of suppliers. However, the majority of hotels have regional contracts with suppliers. This locks the hotel companies into using certain suppliers and creates switching costs. The volume being so ld to the industry is important to the raw materials sources suppliers and equipment manufacturers because hotels will purchase in bulk to operate the business. Contracted suppliers costs and employees’ costs are high because they are needed to work for the operation of the business. These suppliers have high bargaining power.However, they are unable to bargain and will make close to their best offer at the first opportunity in order to gain profit for their business. Differentiation of outputs from suppliers is necessary to deliver performance in order to be more profitable in the industry. Hotels and resorts are part of the accommodation in the lodging industry. Rooms are highly perishable products. There are other options to stay when the customers are away from home such as apartments, condos, cabins and town houses. Buyers have high bargaining power in choosing the accommodation that they would like to stay.Hotels can create differentiation strategy to add value to attra ct customers such as dealing with the pricing strategy, good customer services and provide up-to-date technology in the hotels. However, there is high concentration of buyers relative to the industry. There is very little threat of backward integration from the consumer due to the high costs of start up in the hotel industry. Hence, when the buyers have medium to high bargaining power, then the industry profitability will be low. Substitutes to the hotel industry have a high level of power which leads to low industry profitability.There are a lot of substitutes in the industry. Leisure customers have more alternatives when they travel overseas as well as business customers, they can plan whether to fly to a city in order to have meetings. Nowadays due to the advance technology invented, Internet helps the business people a lot. Business man can do video-conferencing in their own country without flying to other country. This helps the business to save a lot of money. In regards to le isure customers, they have more choices to choose such as staying in boutique hotels, motels, apartments, camping, cruise ships and even caravan.Substitutes gave greater power. The substitutes can provide similar services and products and providing better value for money which make economic sense for buyers to switch. The intensity of rivalry in the industry is medium to high which leads to low industry profitability. Hotel industry is in mature stage, there is no industry growth. With the increase of competitors such as the expansion of luxury Asian brand – Mandarin Oriental, it makes it difficult for the hotels in the industry to maximize its profit by strengthening its occupancy rates.The high cost of building, furnishing and servicing the hotels in the industry create high fixed costs and high exit barriers. This increases rivalry as they need to maximise profits to have significant returns on investment. It makes it difficult to withdraw from the industry and has to comp ete with other existing rivals. The level of diversity among the companies is medium because the majority of the hotels provide similar types of high quality service. Due to this reason, it is easy for buyers to switch from one competitor’s product to another.While there is great rivalry in this industry, there are opportunities for expansion into national and international markets. Moreover, there are many stakeholders involved and large dollar investments, thus, it involves high commitment from every members in the organisation. Overall, analysis of the five forces in hotel industry found out that hotel industry’s attractiveness is rated as medium-low in terms of the potential to earn adequate or superior returns.It is considered as a partly unattractive industry because it has low entry barriers, medium to strong bargaining position of suppliers and buyers, strong competitive threats from product substitutes and intense rivalry among competitors. 4. Summary of Inter nal Analysis Internal analysis is an analysis about the organisation itself, it finds out organisation resources and capabilities to create value to customers and identify area of weaknesses to be addressed by future strategic and evaluate core competencies (Evans, Campbell and Stonehouse, 2003).Acknowledging those resources and capabilities can understand company position and competitive advantage to achieve superior performance and profitability by strategic (Hill and Jones, 2012). Resources Tangible Shangri-la group comprises 110 hotels and resorts throughout Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe. In future development more than 20 hotels and resorts will be built in variety countries. Revenue has growing up nearly a quarter from 2009 to 2010, US $1,729 million to US 2,145 million.But, Share of profit of associates of hotel operation total is 15. 0, and property rentals total is 47. 7. Intangible Shangri-la group has great reputation in public, goodwill value is US $84,504,000 in 2010, because create green image to public, ‘Sustainability’ is umbrella brand which has several action to reduce energy consumption, waste water and carbon dioxide emission. It shows the low turnover rate, this is because company pays respects, cares and aware their employee and provide work-life balance program to motivate staffs to work productively and efficiently.Capabilities It has strong human resource capabilities which is compare to others hotel property, the staff turnover rate is low, Shangri-la provide a series training to staff ensure reach service consistency that ensure meet the expectation of service quality, so this is the competitive advantage. The distribution channels are strongly developed, it has several internet distribution channels, e-commerce is the best way to deliver and receive information nowadays.However, the product differentiation, marketing and management are not strong enough to be core competencies. 5. Gap Analysis Macro-environment Business Strategy Gaps |Trend |Date of Impact |Business Strategy match or Mismatch | |Economic Growth in Asia |1-5 years |Match – Currently Shangri-La group is focusing on developing the | |(especially in China) | |market in China. |Euro economic crisis |1-5 years |Match – Europe is not an essential market segment for the Shangri-La | | | |group and does not have big influence on the hotel financial | | | |performance | |Increasing value of Chinese |Now and ongoing |Mismatch – As the exchange rate of RMB is getting higher, tourists | |RMB’s | |prefer going to other Asian countries while China is the main market | | | |for Shangri-La | |Green Awareness |Now and ongoing |Match – Shangri-La really makes an effort on sustainability, creating | | | |a green organisation image to the public and gaining goodwill from | | | |that. | |Use of Technology |Now and ongoing |Match – Shangri-La spends significant resources on network pro moting, | | | |for example customer can book a room through Shangri-La’s Facebook | |Diminishing Target Demographic |3-5 years |Mismatch – Even Shangri-La group has other brands like Traders and | |Segment | |Kerry, but the target market is also focusing on up-scale market. | Industry Environment Business Strategy Gaps Industry Environment Element |Opportunity of Threat |Effect on Industry Profitability |Business Strategy Consistency or | | | | |Inconsistency | |Suppliers |Natural |Average |Consistent | |Buyers |Threat |High |Consistent | |Threats of New Entrants |Opportunity |High |Limited Consistency | |Substitutes |Threat |High |Limited Consistency | |Rivalry |Threat |High |Consistent | |Government |Opportunity and threat |Various by Location |Some Consistency | |Complementors |Opportunity |Low |Limited Consistency | Key Competitor Business Strategy Gaps |Competitor | |Physical | |Brands | |Decision Making | |Values | | | ECONOMIC FACTOR |Recession |Negative | | | Global Finance Crisis, spend money discreetly (Shah, 2010). | | | | | | | |Good & Service Tax, spend more money in good (Kalia, 2010). |Negative | | | | | | |Some of the countries had announced Carbon Tax which increase | | | |expense (World News Australia, 2012). Negative | | | | | | |Gross Domestic Product is increasing which stimulate people spend | | | |in hospitality (The Economist Online, 2011). |Positive | | | | | | |People are more concern on price due to Global Financial Crisis | | | | |Negative | | |High Labour cost, especially in China grow up rapidly fast. | | | | | | |The inflation in most of the countries are decreasing , | | | |China still growing so fast (Global-Rates. com, 2012) |Negative | | | | | | |The unemployment rate in most of the countries are decreasing | | | |(Trading Economics, 2012) |Positive | | | | | | |Negative | | | |(China) | | | | | | | |Positive | |Overall Negative | |POLITICAL/LEGAL FACTOR |Around 90% of countries had established a l egislation of minimum |Negative | | |wages that increase labour cost extremely (Herr and Kazandziska, | | | |2011). | | | | | | |Conflict between nations, it is not safety for travelling that |Negative | | |influence hospitality industry (Global Conflict Map. com, 2011)( The | | | |World Bank, 2011). | | | | | | | |Arms control in some nations, limit import and export goods (Shah |Positive | | |2012).For instance, North Korea has strict control rules in | | | |hospitality industry. | | |Overall Negative | |TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR |Growth of Internet with fast broadband can assists consumers to |Positive | | |search for rooms available via websites. They can make | | | |reservations easily which help the costs of industry’s marketing | | | |activities. | | | | | | |Communication software or technology improved every year such as |Positive | | |Facebook and Twitter are Social Medias for marketing. | | | | | | | |Many new technology products announced into the market, energy | Positive | | |saving light reduce pollution. For example, the installation of | | | |solar energy system in hotels which can help saving the budget of | | | |the company. | |Overall Positive | |SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTOR |Fluctuating Death Rate which mean age Population is increasing |Negative | | |(Population Reference Bureau, 2011). | | | | | | | |Expectations of service quality. Consumers now expect to get | | | |intangible experience and want to be recognized by the employees. Negative | | |As long as the industry keep up the standards with what the | | | |customers are expecting then it will bring positive effect to the | | | |industry. | | | | | | | |The number of population is increasing over the world; it | | | |increases the workforce and potential customer (Rosenberg, 2011). Positive | | | | | | |Multi-culture around the world, allow knowledge and technique | | | |exchange. | | | | |Positive | |Overall Balance | |ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR |Greater awareness in global warming i ssues is a concern.Energy |Negative | | |consumption needs to be considered to reduce greenhouse gas. The | | | |most cost-effective greenhouse gas reductions can be made by using| | | |existing low technology in building insulation, lighting, | | | |air-conditioning and water heating systems and electricity standby| | | |(Enkvist et. al, 2007), (Fenger and Tjell, 2009). | | | | | | |Climate change (Shah, 2012) & Global Warming (National Geographic,| | | |2012). For example, mountainous areas reduce snow cover and winter| | | |tourism; southern areas decrease summer tourism period. |Negative | | | | | | |Water use management, reduce water use is a long-term strategic. | | |(Queensland Government, 2012) | | | | | | | |Waste disposal management, Use filters in deep fryers to extend | | | |the life of | | | |cooking oil or sale to driver(Lincoln, 2007) | | | |Indoor air quality, more countries forbid smoking in indoor than |Positive | | |last decade(Lincoln, 2007) | | | | | | | |3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) reduce waste cost in daily operation. | | | |For instance, use mugs to instead of disposable cups (USA |Positive | | |Recycling Facility Service, 2012) | | | | | | | |Some countries may need to face the natural disasters, e. g. | | | |Earthquake, Tsunami, and Hurricane (Shah, 2011). Negative | | | | | | |Land Shortage in nations, less land available, so the cost of land| | | |is become expensive. For example, rise around 9% of the total |Positive | | |property price, since 2001 in Australia (Hopkins, 2012),(Asia for | | | |Educators, 2009), (Your Investment Property, 2012). | | | | | | | |Negative | | | | | | | | | | | |Negative | |Overall Negative | 2. Industry Analysis |Forces |Issues |Impact | |Threats of new |Economies of scale |Medium | |entrants |New entrants need to have a certain large-scale production and huge finance because | | | |hotel industry requires substantial upfront investment in building, specialized | | | |equipment, infrastruc ture and staffs. | | |Small lodges will find it difficult to enter to the industry and compete with | | | |Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts because it requires large investment, however, the other| | | |well-known brands hotels such as Marriot International, Hyatt and Hilton might find it| | | |easier to build new hotels. | | | |Proprietary product differences |Medium | | |Product differentiation in hotel industry is low. It is relatively easy to replicate | | | |differentiation such as the products and services. Every hotels and resort can provide| | | |rooms that meet the demands of the customers and also train their staffs well to | | | |provide personalized service. | | |However, Shangri-La Hotels and Resort have built good brand and reputation; thus, it | | | |is the differentiator to compete with other new competitors. | | | |Brand identity |Low | | |Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts have built a good brand image in the mind of customers. | | | |Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is alrea dy the leader in Asia (Dogan, 2010). They have | | | |established high product differentiation and brand loyalty.Other new brand hotels | | | |that want to come into the industry, they have to spend lots of costs to attract the | | | |customers to be competitive advantage. | | | |Buyer/customer switching costs |Medium | | |It is simple and easy for customers to switch costs. Customers can be easily attracted| | | |to different hotels that offer more value for money, or affordable prices. Due to the | | | |presence of Internet, customers will search and compare the hotel’s price via | | | |websites. Loyalty program can prevent the guests from switching costs. | | |Capital requirements |Low | | |High capital requirement is required for new entrants even though the competitors plan| | | |to do franchise, merger and acquisition, there is still high investment costs involved| | | |such as costs of inventories, high risk and law return situation and marketing | | | |activities. H ubbard & Beamish (2011, p. 76) state â€Å"New entrants with good ideas but | | | |without finance are unable to break into the industry†. | | |Access to distribution |Low | | |New entrants may have limited sources to access such as raw materials and distribution| | | |channels, as existing hotels have regular customers and partners. | | | |Absolute cost advantages |Low | | |The existing businesses in the industry have a high degree of absolute cost | | | |advantages.They have built good relationship and trust between each others; already | | | |establish hotel’s experience, favourable raw materials, advertisement expenses and | | | |favourable location. Thus, it is hard for new entrants to enter into the industry | | | |because there is low level of trust and familiarity with the suppliers. | | | |Government policy |High | | |Depends on the country’s regulations, government has the opportunity to set many | | | |restraints in the industry or encourage and facil itate the development of hotels. | | |Expected retaliation |High | | |Retaliation is expected as existing hotels will low down price and promotes some | | | |packages to attract customers. Unique and differentiated products by diversifying it | | | |can therefore persist the retaliation. | | |OVERALL RATING: LOW – MEDIUM | |Bargaining power of |Differentiation of inputs |Medium | |supplier |Supplier’s input is crucial to the final product. Good quality of the products and | | | |services provided by the suppliers will create a good outcome.Hence, it will have to | | | |boost the economy of the business. Hotels in the industry are the buyers and the | | | |producers of inputs that are the suppliers (Buffett & Munger, n. d). There are many | | | |suppliers involve in hotel industry such as: | | | |The construction companies tend to have a particular strong position when it comes to | | | |the hotel owner who would like to build a hotel. Thus, it strengthens the power o f | | | |being a supplier. | | |Monopoly suppliers who control electricity, gas and water supplies have high | | | |bargaining power. | | | |Hotels need to spend lots of money in the operational costs. Hotels need to buy | | | |Property Management System and Point of Sales to help the effectiveness of business | | | |operation. Hotels also need to buy amenities products, chemical products and raw | | | |materials for catering. Moreover, it needs to spend money on maintenance and servicing| | | |the equipments.If the hotels are locked into a contract, then the power of suppliers | | | |will be lower, they cannot increase the prices when they want to. | | | |Hotels are in the service industry. Hence, it needs people to provide exceptional | | | |services to the customers. High education and good experience employees will have | | | |higher bargaining power. They may negotiate the wages that they would like to receive | | | |and they think is reasonable before working with the hotels. | | | |Hotel customers are fragmented. Hence, as a supplier to the customers, the argaining | | | |power is low because there are substitutes that the customers can choose such as | | | |Marriott International Hotels and Hilton Hotels. | | | |Switching costs of suppliers and firms in the industry |Medium | | |Suppliers have power if there are few firms supplying the product or if there is no | | | |reasonable substitute for it (VBulletin Solutions, 2012). However in large hotel | | | |chains, many things are done by signing contract legally. Legal costs may increase if | | | |one party is not working as per contract listed. Thus, the switching cost is low. | | |Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration |Medium | | |There are high concentration of suppliers to choose from for Shangri-La Hotels and | | | |Resorts. Therefore, the suppliers have lesser power. | | | |Importance of volume to suppliers |Low | | |The volume being sold to the industry is important to the raw materials sources | | | |suppliers and equipment manufacturers because Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will | | | |purchase in bulk to operate the business.Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts have a great | | | |deal of power over the suppliers when purchasing raw materials sources and equipments. | | | |Cost relative to total purchases in the industry |High | | |Supplier cost is a huge part of the total cost. Contracted suppliers costs and | | | |employees’ costs are high because they are needed to work for the operation of the | | | |business. Suppliers retain the power. | | | |Information about supplier’s product |Medium | |Hotels are highly aware of the quality of the products they purchase such as raw | | | |materials, equipments and even labour sources. Hotels will not take the risks to | | | |change the suppliers before they did research and compare the market price among the | | | |supplier’s industries. | | | |Supplier profitability |Low | | |Hotel industry ha s higher profitability as compare to the supplier industry.Suppliers| | | |will be unable to bargain and they will make close to their best offer at the first | | | |opportunity in order to gain profit for their business. | | | |Decision makers’ incentives |Medium | | |Hotels need to motivate their employees by giving incentives in order for them to | | | |provide good service to the customers. | | | |Hotels will do promotional packages when it is in low season to attract more customers| | | |to stay in the hotel. | | |Threat of forward integration |High | | |Suppliers can sell their products via Internet and even to the supermarkets. They have| | | |the power to enter the industry (Hubbard & Beamish, 2011). | | |OVERALL RATING: MEDIUM | |Bargaining power of |Differentiation of outputs |High | |buyers |Customers determine the profitability of the hotel’s business by choosing which one | | | |they would like to stay with, they have high bargaining power to choose.Hotel s create| | | |differentiation strategy to add value to attract customers such as: | | | |Customers place products and pricing strategy at first. For instance, the hotels | | | |should plan for low price strategy during low season or include complimentary goods | | | |for customers. | | | |Staffs provide good quality of service. | | | |Good geographic location which convenience the guests. | | | |Good atmosphere of the rooms and restaurants. | | |Give service for disable such as have disabled rooms in the hotels which located in | | | |the first floor to convenient the handicapped people. | | | |Switching costs of buyers |High | | |Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts have created a loyalty program named â€Å"Golden Circle† to | | | |attract existing customers by earning points and then the customers can redeemed for | | | |hotel stays, dining or spa experiences at any  Shangri-La hotel, resort, Traders hotel | | | |or Kerry hotel (Shangri-La International Hotel Management, 2012) .Thus, this group of | | | |customers will most likely be repeat customers and choose to experience services from | | | |Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. There are low switching costs for customers. | | | |Presence of substitute outputs |High | | |There is an important level of the industry’s output has to the buyer. Hotels and | | | |resorts are part of the accommodation in the lodging industry. There are other options| | | |to stay when the customers are away from home such as apartments, condos, cabins and | | | |town houses (CarrHallCastle, 2012). | | |Industry concentration relative to buyer concentration |Medium – Low | | |Tourism industry is growing rapidly and the demand of hotels for customers increased. | | | |Travellers are highly concentrated relative to the industry, thus, the buyers do not | | | |have lots of bargaining power. | | | |Importance of volume to buyers |High | | |Large volumes of customers are expected to stay in the hotels because they are th e | | | |main source of income for hotels to generate profit.For example, tour operators, who | | | |book thousands of customers into hotels, have a strong bargaining position and can | | | |demand lower prices from hotels. Rooms are perishable, thus, hotels must try to meet | | | |the occupancy level. Buyers have more bargaining power. | | | |Cost relative to total buyer purchases |Medium | | |Corporate customers might invest large amount of money into the hotels when there is | | | |conference happens. They will reserve lots of rooms and meeting rooms. Therefore, they| | | |have more bargaining power. | | |Buyer information about the industry output |High | | |Customers can survey on the best firms that offer great services. They can have | | | |assistance from the travel agents, corporate travel consultants, internet and words of| | | |mouth to determine where they can get the services that they would like to experience. | | | |Positive words of mouth will build good reputation a nd image to the hotel whereas bad | | | |words of mouth will badly impact the business of the hotel. | | |Buyer Profitability |High | | |Customers have the freedom to choose which property they would like to stay in and | | | |dine for. They will gain ‘profit’ when they receive more services as compare to what | | | |they expected. They are still holding high bargaining power. | | | |Decision makers’ incentives |Low | | |When there is a large group coming to stay in the hotel, hotel will provide a discount| | | |price. | | |Threat of backward integration |Low | | |It is impossible for individual customer to enter the hotel industry due to large | | | |investment required. | | |OVERALL RATING: MEDIUM – HIGH | |Power of substitutes |Relative price/performance of substitutes |High | | |Hotelmule (2008) states â€Å"Continual developments in technology keep changing the | | | |potential threat from substitute products†.Technological advancements in th e internet| | | |make the overall market to be more efficient and at the same time expanding the size | | | |of the potential market and create new substitution threats. For example, | | | |video-conferencing has been used instead of holding a conference in hotel. Business | | | |customers tend to travel lesser. | | | |The substitutes for lodging such as camping, hostels and motels, the invention of | | | |cruise ships and trains causes travellers to have alternative choice when travelling | | | |to another country. | | |Switching costs |High | | |It is easy for buyers to switch costs, thus, the substitutes have greater power. | | | |Buyer propensity to substitute |High | | |Substitute products or services will be a threat. Capon (2008, p. 63) states â€Å"This can | | | |be achieved by the substitute being equally good and cheaper, or by it being equal on | | | |price, but offering a better product or more added value†.When other lodges such as | | | |apartments, condos, ca bins and town houses providing similar or equally good function | | | |and providing better value for money, it may make economic sense for the buyers to | | | |switch. | | |OVERALL RATING: HIGH | |Intensity of industry |Industry growth rate |High | |rivalry |There is no industry growth. The hotel industry is in mature stage. Severe industry | | | |rivalry occurs. | | |High fixed costs |High | | |The high cost of building, furnishing and servicing the hotels in the industry create | | | |high fixed costs. This increases rivalry as they need to maximise profits to have | | | |significant returns on investment. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts must sell more rooms | | | |to cover those costs and increase hotel market competition. Hence, it makes it | | | |difficult to withdraw from the industry and has to compete with other existing rivals. | | |Intermittent overcapacity |Medium | | |Due to there are a lot of competitors in the market, there might be a lot of rooms | | | |that are av ailable and cannot be sold out. | | | |Product differences |High | | |There are no product differences because majority of hotels provide similar types of | | | |high quality service. Products and services in hotels are easy to imitate.It is | | | |difficult to reduce the rivalry through the differentiation of the products and | | | |services. | | | |Brand identity |Medium-High | | |Brand is important because through branding, a business can stand out of the crowd. | | | |People remember the organization and will choose to go to the well-known hotels as it | | | |can heighten the level of self esteem and be part of the social group. Shangri-La | | | |Hotels and Resorts have developed their brand name and are well known in worldwide. | | |However, other hotel groups such as Marriott International and Starwood have great | | | |brand identity as well. | | | |Switching costs |High | | |It is easy for buyers to switch from one competitor’s product to another; industry | | | |riva lry will be increased (Hubbard & Beamish, 2011). Thus, Shangri-La Hotels and | | | |Resorts create a loyalty program named Golden Circle to retain their customers. | | |Informational complexity |Medium-High | | |Consumers can look at rooms available in different hotels and compare prices online. | | | |Internet will have information about the price and service differences. Furthermore, | | | |some hotel websites provide virtual tours which introduce the guests about the real | | | |experience spending time in the hotels. There are also lots of travel websites such as| | | |trip advisor which provide guest’s review about the hotels. Information is readily | | | |available on the Internet. Thus, industry rivalry is enhanced. | | |Concentration and balance |High | | |Cline (n. d) mentions â€Å"Hospitality customers increasingly seek predictable services | | | |that support their ability to move quickly and easily around the world†. International| | | |hotel chains are e xpanding their business to meet the demand of the customers and to | | | |determine the way to be ‘happy’ with their position in the industry. Hence, rivalry | | | |will be significant. | | |Diversity of competitors |Medium | | |The level of diversity among hotels is medium because majority of the hotels provide | | | |similar types of high quality service. However, some hotels like Marriott | | | |International; it diversifies its business into planning and organizing wedding events| | | |for the couple who would like to marry. Marriott provides free assistance from | | | |certified wedding planners and help with everything from selecting centrepieces to |